MetalForming Delivers Feature

November 5, 2014

Celebrating a Solid MonthThis Reuters article summarizes results of the recent Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index of national factory activity, which rose to 59 in October--up markedly from an index of 56.6 in September. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector. October’s index equals the index recorded in August 2014, the highest the index has been since March 2011.

The October index exceeded economists’ expectations, who (per a Reuters poll) had predicted an index of 56.2.

> Money in Robots“As industrial robots become smarter, faster, affordable, and develop advanced capabilities such as sensing, dexterity, memory and trainability, industrial manufacturers across industries are looking to advanced robotics to gain a competitive business advantage.” So notes a Cleveland Plain Dealer article that not only documents the fast-rising implementation of robots in factories, via surveys and interviews with a range of manufacturers, but also explains why some companies still shy away from robotics.

“What scares a lot of smaller manufacturers like us,” says one executive, “is that you have to have repetitive work and when orders change or the parts mix changes it requires reprogramming or even a new robot."

> Take a Look Inside the New Land Rover Plant in ChinaJaguar Land Rover recently opened its inaugural overseas manufacturing facility in China, tasked with building the new Range Rover Evoque--the first model to be built under the Chinese-British automotive joint venture with Chery Automobile Company Ltd. This 3-min. YouTube video provides an up-close look at the production environment, including the equipment used to construct the vehicle’s aluminum body.

The 40,000-sq.-m factory is in Changshu, north of Shanghai.

In This Issue:

> Fab Shop Braces for Success with New Stamping PressEver since former NBA star Mitch Kupchak (current Los Angeles Lakers general manager) first donned a knee brace manufactured by Townsend Design, sales for the company have skyrocketed. Sheetmetal fabrication suffices for relatively low-volume production, but stamping has now become required to support higher production volumes.